By JONAS TERRADO
The national women’s football team rolled to an 8-0 win over Fiji to conclude their two-game friendly series Monday at the Western Sydney Wanderers Football Park in Sydney, Australia.
Katrina Guillou scored a hat trick while Carleigh Frilles celebrated her birthday with a brace as the lady booters – known as Filipinas – produced another win over the team from Oceania.
Sofia Harrison, Quinley Quezada and Bella Flanigan also scored for coach Alen Stajcic’s side.
The World Cup-bound squad’s victory came after thrashing the same team, 7-2, last April 7 as part of preparations for next month’s Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“The team showed some improvement (compared to the first match),” said Stajcic. “There’s plenty of work ahead in getting to the level that we want to be, but we are getting better, playing with much more fluency with and without the ball and gaining some confidence.”
Harrison opened the scoring 10 minutes after the opening whistle before Quezada doubled the lead in the 25th.
Guillou continued the Philippine onslaught in the 31st and 36th to make it 4-0 until halftime. Frilles scored her first in the 49th and Guillou completed the trifecta six minutes later.
Flanigan joined the scoring tally at the hour mark before Frilles added one in the 90th minute for the Philippines.
The team will continue its camp in Sydney before heading to Hanoi for the biennial meet.
